How to Save a Life

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As you may have noticed, I’m a huge fan of historicals, gothic mysteries, and — from time to time — sci fi and fantasy. Sometimes, however, I just crave a good contemporary YA novel. And when I do, you better believe I go straight to Sara Zarr. It’s such a gift to find an author whose books MUST be read, regardless of the subject matter. Zarr’s latest, How to Save a Life, may well be her best so far.

After the sudden death of her father, Jill MacSweeny withdraws from her friends, her boyfriend, and even her newly widowed mother. Her mother’s plan to bring a pregnant young woman into their house in order to adopt the baby seems both inappropriate and doomed to fail. Jill’s subsequent resentment prompts her to finally reach out to others. However, her efforts to reconnect with her boyfriend fail to bring comfort, and her manipulation of an attractive co-worker into investigating the birth mother leaves her confused.

The birth mother, Mandy Kalinowski, is an unusual young woman. Jill dismisses her as a simpleton. A reader initially might conclude that she’s a sociopath. Mandy certainly has kept secrets and manipulated people. But as we become privy to her past and the circumstances leading up to her pregnancy — and as we see how she responds to Mrs. MacSweeny’s trust and Jill’s scorn — we grow to care deeply for Mandy. The question is, will Jill learn to do the same before it’s too late?

I love the character arcs in this book, and the little plot twists and poignant moments that I didn’t see coming (though this was slightly inconvenient for reading on a plane — good thing I had plenty of tissues). Zarr’s prose is gorgeously warm and authentic, and it manages to be so wise without ever seeming heavy-handed or full of itself. (You know what I mean, right?)

I so admire Sara Zarr as a writer and as a person (check out her blog for nuggets of wisdom and reassurance). If you haven’t read any of her books yet, get thee to a library or bookstore this instant! :)

Goals!: How to Get Everything You Want — Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible by Brian Tracy

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It’s less than a month into the new year, and I’ve decided to set my goals for the year. I never do it on New Year’s Day, because then it’s a resolution. I’m the girl who has so many goals whirling around in her head that she can’t figure out where to start, so she just doesn’t. Well, not anymore!

Goals! How to Get Everything You Want taught me how to prioritize my goals, and just what to expect. The important part of goal setting, is to learn to break the larger goals into smaller pieces. And for the first time in my life, I have a clear path and a concrete set of goals.

I also used to keep my goals private, not wanting anyone to poo-poo them, but this year I sat down with my husband and explained to him what my number one goal was, and how I planned to achieve it. His response, “Let me know if I can do anything to help.” Now that was not what I expected. Maybe I should have shared my goals years ago? Hahaha.

So I’m on my way, and by this time next year, I will have achieved a huge goal that I’ve finally put on paper. What about you? How do you set and achieve your goals? Need help defining and achieving? Try this book from Brian Tracy! For the wicked low Kindle price, you can’t go wrong.

 

New! New! New!

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by Malena Lott

Sorry. I couldn’t help myself with that headline. Blame on my daily life as a marketer and advertiser. I’m always looking for the sparkly object to promote to my client’s target market. In the case of Book End Babes, we do have a lot of new on the horizon. You may have seen some tweets asking for more bookettes and book dudes. We’re switching to a once a month post per blogger format and leaving some spaces open for author guest posts. We’re also going to restructure the site and fold it neatly into the fold of the Athena Institute properties – my branding, creative and multimedia firm I founded in 2006.

It just makes sense that with the wild west of publishing these days I’d mesh my worlds. I hope that readers and authors will love what we’re doing. The indie multimedia division, Buzz Books USA, is going strong, with the recent announcement of new team members (publicist Cyndy Hoenig, senior editor Mari Farthing and communications manager Dani Stone) and writing contracts for new authors in several categories.

In addition to providing blogging opportunities for authors, we’ll also be adding advertising space and creative services for writers and businesses. I’m going to be honest and say all the “badvertising” I see being offered on the Internet made me want to offer a higher quality solution. Branding matters.

You’ll also be seeing more multimedia in the way of workshops, videos and podcasts. The Hive with Buzz Books just completed our first interview with film critic Phil Bacharach. You can listen to it here and will be able to get a feed through iTunes. Next week our guest is our own film to books bookette Michelle Langston who is a film publicist.

Yet the mission of BEB remains unchanged – get people reading. Talk about great books. Inspire new ideas and thinking. Reading makes us more empathetic, smarter and not quite so bitchy. Hey, it’s science! I’m going “behind the scenes” at BEB, but I’ll be posting once a month and relishing in getting to be a part of this savvy book community. Dani is taking the reins at BEB and long-time bookette Heather Dearly (and new Buzz Books author) will be the co-editor. Heather will handling our 4 monthly Top Picks. I know they’ll catch me when I fall, which I’m eternally grateful for. :)

I’ll leave you with a bookish gift – a free promo that ends Monday for my short story, Snowflakes and Stones, available on the Kindle. It’s from the winter anthology, Sleigh Ride. I’d love to hear what you think.

Stay tuned for our trumpets and ‘tinis, announcing our new look and new book bloggers.

Real babes read books. (gals and guys!)

xo,
Malena

Redneck Ex – Claire Croxton

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Available today from TheWildRosePress.com and Amazon.

“Well.”  Wait!  Can I say that in a southern accent?  Yes, I believe so.  I’m from Texas.  Let me start again.

Whey-ell.  How do you like Redneck Ex for a title?  I have to admit, even being from Texas, I’m not wild about the cowboy, southern thing.  However, I found this story to be one of the most heartwarming I’ve run across in some time.

This debut author’s novel will grip your heart in the first two pages.  I expect Ms. Croxton will have many more successful endeavors to follow.  Her wit is unparalleled, balanced perfectly with gripping emotion.

Begged by her elderly ex-in-laws, Summer Leigh Johnson flies to Germany to see her ex-husband, comatose after a stint in Iraq.  Years prior, Dwight Sebastian Sullivan dumped Summer Leigh and remarried repeatedly.  She hasn’t seen or spoken to him since the divorce, yet he listed her as next of kin.  Talking to a comatose ex was much easier to deal with than a smiling sexy live version, and it takes its toll.

But, supposin’ it’s not just romance you want.  Perhaps, you’d wouldn’t mind a little mystery as whey-ell.  Gripping, I tell you.  Just gripping.

Claire Croxton’s positively delightful, in both wit and emotion that cannot fail to stir your heart.  —Kathy L Wheeler.

His Wife and Daughters – Kim Arbor

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A Congressman’s Sex Scandal from Twenty Years Ago Still Haunts His Wife and Daughters – by Kim Arbor

Ever since researching a history paper in junior high about 1920s-era President Warren Harding and finding out about his illicit liaisons in a White House closet with a young woman named Nan Britton, I’ve been fascinated with political sex scandals. And today it seems that every other week there’s a new story of another politician caught cheating on his wife. From Gary Hart and Bill Clinton to Gary Condit, Elliot Spitzer, Jonathan Edwards, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Herman Cain, etc., etc., it’s clear that the explosive combination of politics and sex never seems to go out of style.

And although we hear a lot about the wives who stand by their men, in my new novel, His Wife and Daughters, I wanted to also delve into how a political sex scandal affects a politician’s daughters. What happens to them when their father’s cheating becomes known, not only to his family, but to the entire world? What message does a man engaging in such reckless behavior send to his daughters? And what message does their mother send when she insists on standing by her man?

His Wife and Daughters starts in 1988 with Trina Brath and her teenage daughters, Jill and Phoebe, leading happy and privileged lives as the wife and daughters of successful five-term California Congressman Dan Brath. But all that changes when Dan, 52, is suspected of having an affair with Lesley Chisholm, a nineteen-year-old Washington DC intern who has gone missing. Soon Dan Brath is being accused in the harsh media spotlight of not only sleeping with Lesley Chisholm, but responsible for her disappearance.

Despite Trina’s standing by her husband and insisting he is not a murderer—yet keeping the secret that he has cheated on her many times before—the incessant media scrutiny puts a strain on the family, causing their lives to go into a tailspin.

Eight months later, when Lesley mysteriously returns home safe and sound, Dan Brath’s career is over, and his family is in tatters.

Today, the scandal that rocked the Brath family continues to take its toll. Amid media reports of new political sexploits almost every week, it’s a handy reference point for a gossip-hungry public. Besides her trust issues with men, Jill self-medicates with food. Phoebe leads a self-destructive life, having been estranged from the family for years. And Trina, who continues to blame Lesley Chisholm for the family’s financial and career misfortunes, maintains a codependent relationship with her husband.

To make matters worse, Lesley Chisholm is breaking her silence with a tell-all memoir—a book Trina is trying to stop—which is sure to make Dan Brath’s wife and daughters relive the trauma all over again. Will Jill, Trina and Phoebe be able to cope, heal their wounds and move on with their lives?

Told from the viewpoints of the three women, His Wife and Daughters is a moving story of how one family attempts to survive the ultimate betrayal.

His Wife and Daughters is available as a Kindle e-book on Amazon:

http://tinyurl.com/839fhtn

and a Nook e-book at Barnes and Noble:

http://tinyurl.com/6ltxdkf

Read the first chapter here: http://kimarbor.blogspot.com

About Me:

I’m a San Francisco writer with an MFA and a serious addiction to gummy bears. When I’m not busy writing you’ll find me haunting the coffee houses of North Beach, exploring the city’s stairway streets and chasing cable cars that climb halfway to the stars.